Handcrafted Crystal Jewelry

I had my first vending experience last month for a fun loving music collective called La Junta, which translates from Spanish to English as “the gathering”. La Junta got started in Alhambra by Degruvme and Prescilla from BodyLanguage Events, Yukicito, Music Producer for Nickodemus, and Glenn Red from Afro Funké – I must say they are a very talented group of people. Since inception La Junta made their way to the city of Los Angeles and now hosts their events at a rooftop restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles called Don Chente. La Junta brings Latin music from all across the globe and mixes it with current and classic sounds. I really enjoy their parties and after their summer party last year I stayed connected with Prescilla. Fast forward to April of 2017, I get an invite to be a vendor at their event! Needless to say I jumped at the opportunity and knew this was going to be big for me. This would be my chance to spread the word and most importantly interact with potential customers. I wanted to hear what they liked about it and what they didn’t like about it. The results from the event were nothing I expected and I am so thankful for the open door and welcome sign from the La Junta family. I loved the feedback I received, good and bad and learned so much from just that experience. I am going to be back at La Junta this Sunday for their Memorial Weekend event on May 28th at Don Chente, come swing by if you’re in the area I would love to chat with ya!!!

I know it looks pretty gross but this paste is miraculous. Now I wish I would’ve taken a before and after picture of myself but unfortunately I didn’t. Either way there, are so many ways to enhance a picture you can’t really rely on them anymore. Therefore you will just have to take my word for it and give it a try. I have yellow teeth, I didn’t brush well and on top of that I was given coffee at 5 years old. I know, blame it on my South American roots. Along with all that I had braces which didn’t help. In high school my favorite drinks were Peach Iced Tea and Pepsi to top it all off. In college I used white strips to reverse the effects of my poor drinking habits and in return I was left with the most sensitive teeth on the planet. It was torturous to eat really anything that was either cold or hot. So I stopped using those and felt stuck, I didn’t know what direction to go in my quest to white teeth. I found this natural remedy and decided to give it a try and holy turmeric does it work. Not only does it help whiten your teeth but because of the coconut oil you put in it, it makes your teeth feel squeaky clean afterwords. Ok enough of my ranting here are the ingredients:

-2 parts Turmeric 1 part Baking Soda 1 part Coconut Oil

Things to consider:

*Turmeric stains so be prepared to have a yellow/orange toothbrush

*Make sure you brush in your PJs so you don’t get any on your clothes

*Only brush with this magical toothpaste once a day

*Remember that the paste will melt as you brush since coconut oil hardens if the temp is too low

*Rinse your mouth well after use and make sure you clean the corners of your mouth as the turmeric likes to get in cracks =)

*Coconut oil is great for teeth since it fights cavity causing bacteria

*This paste is better than what you find in stores since it is all natural & there is no fluoride

It was the time the day slowly turned into evening and the purple wisteria got ready to turn in for the night, the grand Moorish fortress of Alhambra basked in the last of the sun’s light. My than husband and I walked down the hill finishing our visit to a magical place when the sound of the guitar pierced the warm flower filled air. As if under a spell, I turned and walked toward the sound. Sitting on an ancient stone, a longhaired man held a guitar close to his chest, moving his fingers with the speed of light creating a sound that was out of this world. He was surrounded by gypsies that began to sing and dance as he finished his solo. I was mesmerized by the sound, feeling of wholeness that I had never felt in my 20 years of existence. My feet were moving to the vibrations of the sound and at that moment I knew that the beat that was so powerful was the beat of life itself connecting everything in the universe.

Music became my inspiration, and many years later with the help of many creative souls, I was blessed to open a place dedicated to it. Beat Non Stop, as it was called, located on Melrose Ave. in the heart of Hollywood. Beat Non Stop established in 1992 became a candy store for DJs and clubbers from around the globe. It was a hub where new tracks found their homes in DJ crates and where magical musical vortexes were created.

Mear and his graffiti crew created a fantastical world full of futuristic landscapes from other realms. LA’s best underground DJs came together to fill the record bins with vinyl from known and unknown artists and places. If I was to put together a list of names of all that became the family of artists, customers, record producers, clothing companies, writers, people that shared good and bad times with me, the list would be so long I would have to buy more memory in my laptop. I thank them for teaching me the power of music. The way it can heal and uplift at the most difficult times. The way it can bestow wisdom on you while you are dancing, and the way you can become enlightened when connecting to the sound. For all the amazing experiences I had and continue having I thank my Beat Non Stop family for being the light on my adventure I call life.

XOXOXO NINA

Nina now sells designer vintage garments on Ebay and has a wonderful blog calledunicorns and jam I was lucky enough to receive her story before she posts this to her own blog. Thank you Nina.

A few weeks ago I went to visit the “wildflower super bloom”, except I went to the “mini bloom” =) I took a mini road trip to the Chumash Trail at the Point Magu State Park in Malibu. The incline on this hike was definitely intense, it showed no mercy but I was determined to see these wildflowers. While on my way to my destination I asked some fellow hikers how long from where we were to the flowers, they were awesome enough to tell me that I didn’t have to climb to the top of the mountain to see them and told me to stick to the left side of the trail. Super stoked on the news I kept going and I finally hit the plateau, as you can see below it was super foggy up there.

It was so lush everywhere I looked. The hike was amazing and will be doing it again real soon. After such a treacherous hike it was completely worth it when I got to the beautiful flowers. I sat there and took it all in. I hope you enjoy what I got to capture.

Incline was no joke.View on the way up.This was the mountain that you can hike up.The beautiful California poppy.Peaceful with the poppies.This was the view that overlooked the ocean.

Recapping on the month of March prompts feelings of divinity, worth and confidence, we’re closing on Women’s History Month. I am excited to see the power of proclamation that women have taken across the world. Not only are we standing up for ourselves and each other; and even though we have so much more to go, it is something else to see stronger and louder acknowledgments from the opposite sex.

In my personal venture I started off in the clothing industry, I had to quickly learn the ins and outs of clothing production and even then only learned a fourth of the whole process. I began working with a fabric shop owner who would go on and produce my first pattern and sample for a simple bodysuit within a 2 week period, or so I thought. I went into this “business deal” very trusting and naive. Never thinking to include a contract and have clear expectations of what needed to be done. In the end I did not receive the proper attention that was required as a new client/customer. I soon realized that because I was a small order and a new “brand” to this shop owner, I was placed at the bottom of the totem pole. Not only was I given poor services but when inquiring about when my order would be finished, the shop owner was very condescending, rude, and unprofessional to me. He got hostile with me over the phone and let me know that he does not work under pressure. Those were his exact words, interesting because the clothing industry is all about deadlines. Mind you, the man had already known that I was a rookie in the industry, which does not explain tone he took with me. Aside from that he had me pay upfront for the order, which is something I learned is a big red flag. As you can already see, since the man got his money, he was able to have me wait a whole month, yes a whole month until I received my pattern and sample. Now if I would have been a male in the industry the conversation would have been a lot different, the tone would have been lighter and smooth as opposed to talking down to me. Just knowing that I had to communicate with him made me anxious, I knew I had to walk on egg shells and speak to him in a different manner because this man had a short temper and everything I said seemed to rub him the wrong way. He told me that I was just like all the other designers he had dealt with, which only shows his unprofessionalism. I was far from what he was stereotyping me as since I was just asking on the status of what I had paid full price for. This guy was clearly a jerk, had I been more attentive at picking up on the red flags from the beginning I would not have been in that situation, waiting on my services that I had paid for. When I met the man I ignored his initial condescending remarks, I quickly learned that even if you need someone else’s services, your respect comes first, always. It sets the tone for the business relationship. Just because you are new to something it does not mean it is ok for someone with experience to belittle you. Since the details were not discussed I soon found out all the extra costs he was throwing in, like only having one fitting minimum to perfect the sample anything after that would be an alteration cost, paying for the thread used on my garment, buying more fabric that was never used, and setting a due date. Due to these unforeseen circumstances I no longer wanted to be invovled in this deal so I just accepted what was given to me. I received a horrendous final sample that I am not satisfied with but because there was no contract I decided to close the deal. I urge you if you are going into something you know little about but don’t want to continue looking for someone else, please WAIT, don’t just go with someone you’re not comfortable with. Make sure you are being heard and most importantly respected. And lastly please make a contract with everyone you are doing business with, even if you feel like you trust the person, at the end of the day its business and unfortunately you can’t trust anybody. Contracts maximize success rates and keep expectations clear and concise. I hope this helps and please if you are in the L.A area and are looking for a production house contact me so I can steer you clear from the fabric store. xoxo